


Uncle Andy Finds a New Home

by Leahelisabeth (fortheloveofcamelot)



Series: Uncle Andy [2]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-04-24 19:07:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14361756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fortheloveofcamelot/pseuds/Leahelisabeth
Summary: Aaron loses Katelyn but he still has his two little girls and his brother.





	Uncle Andy Finds a New Home

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry.

Aaron feels nothing, like he’s wrapped in soft cotton or bubble wrap, a layer between him and the harsh reality surrounding him. His girls are there, slumping exhausted into his sides, faces tearstained and pajamas rumpled. And Aaron never thought he would be here, not like this, a frantic call at 3 a.m., a strung out patient with a knife.

He blinks and looks up, his brain finally registering the doctor standing in front of him with a sadly shaking head, nervously wringing hands, and that awful look of understanding in his eyes. He chokes down an intrusive bubble of hysterical laughter because she is...was the last person in his life he ever thought he would lose to violence.

Time speeds up then. He’s signing things and making funeral arrangements His little girls are there in flickers and bursts of colour, kissing him goodnight, clutching tight to his legs, handing him sandwiches and cans of pop from the grownups in the other room. But mostly they’re off with Matt and Dan’s brood, terrorizing a local park or creating their next masterpiece in crayon and tempera paint.

Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night and he reaches for her, forgetting in that half dream state that he now sleeps alone. The funeral is beautiful, he assumes. Katelyn was so loved and he is constantly staggered by the number of lives she had managed to touch in the years she had worked at that hospital.

And then slowly, the Foxes start to trickle away. Kevin and Thea leave first, back to their team. Kevin missed one game for the funeral but could not bring himself to miss another. Renee had flown in especially for the day but her leave was up as well. She clung to Mandy and Rebecca in the airport and gave him a look that let him know she was including him in her love. Allison was next, leaving newly stocked closets and expensive bath products that he never would have bought for himself. Matt and Dan head back to Palmetto. Dan feels nervous about leaving the current Foxes leaderless for so long. None of them are the children of mob bosses but they do have similar talents when it comes to stirring up trouble. Matt just misses his preschoolers.

Nicky stays as long as he can and he leaves the deep freeze full of casseroles, but Erik couldn’t get the time off work and he is all alone in Germany with their new baby and Aaron refuses to let his cousin put his life on hold for him again. Neil and Andrew miss two games of Exy but Aaron can see the strain on Neil’s face, the fingers itching for a racket, the feet so ready to run. Aaron knows when they leave, it will just be him and his little girls. He loves them desperately, more than he could ever imagine loving anyone, but he has no fucking clue how to raise them.

His eyes blink open. He doesn’t feel like he’s slept but he’s lost hours and the late morning sun is highlighting the empty space beside him. The last thing he wants to do is get up and go downstairs but Andrew and Neil’s plane left at 6 a.m. and it was far too quiet downstairs. So he drags himself out of bed. He pulls on his robe, not bothering to get dressed for the day. He doesn’t have to be back at work for a few weeks.

There are dirty dishes in the sink, two coffee mugs, three big bowls with the residue of chocolate ice cream, and Aaron is struck with the sudden urge to wring his brother’s neck for leaving that as his parting gift.

There is still coffee in the pot. It’s hours old and it’s long gone cold but Aaron dumps it into a mug and sucks it down anyway. Muffled giggles sound from the living room and Aaron wanders there, stopping in the doorway to look at the scene before him.

Crayons are scattered everywhere. Three more bowls, these ones still partway full of lucky charms, are sitting on the coffee table. Three blond heads are bent over a single sheet of paper. The two smallest have their hands pressed over their mouths to keep quiet while the slightly bigger one draws something Aaron can’t see.

“Ok, what colour should I use now?” Andrew asks.

“Orange,” Mandy whispers.

“Nope, pick another one. I already used orange,” Andrew says.

“But it’s everybody’s favourite,” Rebecca protests. She points at the framed picture of the Foxes and the Vixens from their last university championship. “See?”

“But if you use all the orange now, you’ll have to use up the rest of the crayons before we can get you a new box and you won’t get to use orange for a very long time. It’s better to ration it,” Andrew says seriously. Aaron wonders when Andrew started sounding so happy and relaxed and why he hadn’t noticed it before now.

“Hey, your dad’s awake,” Andrew nudges them gently. Aaron comes into the living room and sits on the couch and moments later, he is tackled by two tiny five-year-olds.

“Look Daddy!” Mandy holds up the piece of paper. “We drew Mommy’s new house!”

Aaron clutches his girls close and looks at the paper. He sees a riot of orange and purple flowers surrounding a little green house before his eyes fill with tears and everything blurs.

“Who told you about Mommy’s house?” he asks softly.

“Auntie Renee did. She said Mommy misses us but that she’s getting the perfect house ready for us someday,” Rebecca snuggled into Aaron’s chest and looked up at him.

“What are you doing here?” he asks Andrew rather abruptly. “I thought you were leaving early this morning.”

“Neil left early this morning,” Andrews corrects him. “I’m not the junkie he is.”

“But, your team,” Aaron protests.

“Will have to get by without me,” Andrew says firmly. “I was going to retire at the end of this season anyway. My replacement is not as good as I am but I taught her everything she knows. They don’t need me to win.”

“Andrew, you can’t just give up everything for me,” Aaron says, holding his girls a little too firmly. Mandy squirms until he lets her go and she runs over to Andrew.

“Hey squirt,” Andrew winks at her and he looks so soft that Aaron can hardly breathe. “Can you tell your Daddy what I told you this morning?”

“Uncle Andy took all these social classes and now he needs his...his…” Mandy breaks off and whispers into Andrew’s ear. Andrew whispers back and then she continues. “His prac-tic-um,” she pronounces carefully.

“I already talked to the agency here in Columbia and they have a place for me,” Andrew says. “I can get my own place if you’re not comfortable but I want to be here.”

“What about Neil?” Aaron asks.

“We’ve been long distance before and it sucks but after playoffs are over, he’ll move here for the summer and we’ll figure out a new plan in the fall,” Andrew picks Mandy up and lets her wrap her arms around his neck and kiss his cheek. He whispers into Mandy’s ear again.

“Uncle Andy says he wants to be here cause he loves us,” Mandy announces. She listens for another few seconds. “He doesn’t want to push you away anymore.”

Aaron closes his eyes against the rush of tears. He hides his face in Rebecca’s shoulder and misses Katelyn fiercely. He whispers into his daughter’s ear.

“Daddy says ok,” Rebecca practically shouts. “He wants you to stay, Uncle Andy!”

Aaron whispers one last thing.

Rebecca grins and climbs off Aaron’s lap. She goes and joins her sister in hugging Andrew. She whispers in her uncle’s ear and Aaron knows exactly what she’s saying.

“Daddy says he loves you too.”


End file.
